In My Veins
by DaydreaminAri
Summary: Nothing goes as planned. Everything will break. People say goodbye in their own special ways. All that you rely on, and all that you can fake, will leave you in the morning, and find you in the day. You're in my veins, and I cannot get you out...
1. Ch 1

**A/N** -

First off Let me apologize for that hiatus that I took. I started freshman year, and school got a bit more stressful than I thought it would. Before that, I just couldn't figure out where i wanted that story to go, so i kind of gave up on it all. I know it's bad to say, but i thought i should just give it all up. And i know that i lost a lot of people doing this, and now i see that it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. My mom, the other day, asked me why i stopped writing FanFics, and i told her because it got to be too much. Then she asked "Then why did you ever start it?" And then it clicked. I love to write, for one reason and one reason only. These characters, their personalities, their issues, their love lives, they are half real and half fake. I've said it many times before, i write myself into these stories. I may go by a different name, but these problems are the things that i have went though. But these love lives are the things i wish i could have gone through. They are my happy endings. And only now, after 3 months, have i realized that no matter how stressful it was to keep up with these stories, i have never enjoyed something so much. For whoever is reading this, you are the only reason i wrote these stories. I wrote them so that i could tell my stories (discretely might i add) to the people willing to listen. You guys gave some of the most amazing feedback, and even though you don't even know who i am, you stood by my side through thick and thin.

Because of all of this, I'm going to try my hardest to get back into it. I'm more than likely not going to finish the last story. I don't like it anymore. But if writing means i will have to stay up until 3 in the morning to finish a chapter on a school night, then i will. But in return, i ask that you promise me something as well. Promise to be patient with me. Promise that you will read when the chapters come, and that you will wait for the next, patiently. I'm going to need that patients, especially with what is about to come. I have school, sports, the holidays, my family, and my dog just being diagnosed with cancer, to deal with, so time is going to be tight.

I will try my best to do this, but if in a couple of months, i realize i can't do it anymore, i may have to stop for good. Now, i don't want that, because like i said, i write these stories because i love what i do and i know you guys will listen, but as you get older life starts to get harder. 7th grade was simple, and i had the time to write, 8th grade was a bit harder, but i pushed through. 9th and my life as of the moment, is 50x harder. So be patient with me, and i will try my best to write you guys a kick ass Cabbie story. Okay?

Thank you so much for being there for me, each and every one of you. Thank you for reading, and for being part of one of the most important things in my life. I do love each and every one of you. I'll post the first chapter of my new story soon. Thanks again.

**Review to let me know who's still going to be here to read.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was early September, the day school started, and it still felt like summer. No one wanted the endless sun and beach days to end, but Hollywood Arts was the kind of school nobody regretted coming back to.

The buses rolled in and parked in their designated spots that were etched out in yellow paint. The bell rang and the bus doors swung open letting in a light breeze from the warm outdoors. I stood up, trying not to bump into the kid with the Mohawk, in front of me. I follow the line off of the bus, astounded by the amazing school that was in front of me.

About 6 months ago, my mom took me to this place for the entrance exam, and told me as long as I passed I would get it. She said that was my birthday present. I was never as happy as I was that day.

I take in the school, smiling at all of the modern art, in the patches of grass out front of the school. A boy comes running up next to me, smiling as well.

"You're new, aren't you?" He says. His voice was deeper than I expected it to be. He wore a plain blue button down flannel rolled up to his elbows, beige skinny jeans and black vans. He had curly hair and glasses, and you could easily tell her was dressed this way only to fit in.

"Is it that noticeable?" I ask him. I flash him a smile, trying to not look as nervous as I actually am.

"Very. Where are you from?"

"LAH High School. Just transferred." I explain as we enter the building, hoping he won't leave me to my own devices.

"Very cool. I went there for my freshman year, but that didn't work out well. Everyone here is a lot more accepting that the people in average high school. You can calm down, we won't eat you." We walked around for a little bit, passing by groups of people, some where having rap battles, some were playing their instruments together.

"So… Where exactly am I going?" I ask him after walking in circles for 2 minutes.

"Well we all have the first period free, this is when everyone chills and just screws around. We have that freedom here, because they know we won't leave. Come with me. I bring you to the office for you things." He says walking away, intending for me to follow, but it takes a moment for me to do so.

Everything was so different. In LAHS if you were late to homeroom, you go detention, but here we just get free time to do nothing for the first 45 minutes. I could tell I was going to like it here.

I follow the kid with curly hair around the zigs and zags of the school, until we reach a big glass window and a door that leads to the main office. He opens the door and lets me go in first, then follows behind me.

"Hey Robbie. How are you today?" The woman behind the desk says. She was in her early 60's with grey hair and glasses.

"I'm good Mrs. Dawn. How was your summer?" He asks her with a friendly smile. I could tell that he was a nice guy.

"Very good. Got to see the grandkids a lot. And who is this?" She looks at me.

"New student who transferred in from LAHS. This is…" He looks over at me realizing I haven't told him my name.

"Oh, I'm Cat. Cat Valentine." I tell the woman. Robbie chuckles a little bit, and I do too. We met 10 minutes before this, and even talked, but I didn't know his name until Mrs. Dawn said it.

"Hello Cat." Mrs. Dawn says getting up and walking over to us to give me my things. I had a stack of papers, and a schedule with my locker number and combo on it.

Robbie stops me outside of the office. He extends his hand. "I'm Robbie. Robbie Shapiro." He smile as I take his hand. He pulls it up to his mouth and kisses it softly, making me laugh.

"I'm Cat… Cat Valentine." I tell him, even though he knows now.

"Why do I feel like we're in a James Bond movie?" He asks me with a smirk.

"Maybe we are…" I smirk back, but a little more flirty then he did.

He finally lets go of my hand, and I didn't even realize how long we were sitting like that. Just staring at each other, hand in hand.

"So… What do you have 2nd period?" I ask trying to break the silence and awkwardness. Our stare finally broke when he looked away shyly.

"Um…" He scratches behind his ear, probably a nervous habit he has picked up. "I think I have vocals."

"I do too!" I smile. "I have to use the bathroom, but I can find my way there. Before I forget, do you want to hang out later?"

"Really? I mean, um, yea. Let's do that." He smiles awkwardly.

"Why did you say really?" I ask before heading to the restrooms.

"It's a little hard for a guy like me to get a girl like you to talk to me, let alone ask to hang out."

"A girl like me?" I question.

"You know, someone so… pretty." He tries to puff out his chest, but I could see it in his eyes that he was more nervous that he has ever been.

After using the bathroom, I still had time left in 1st period, so I cut across the outside courtyard to take in more of the school. I wanted to make it quick, because I would want extra time in case I got lost, but the second I step outside, I knew I would want to stay out forever.

I could feel the sun beams, warming my body, creating a golden glow on my skin. The school was on the beach, so the courtyard over looked the ocean. The sun sparkled on the water, and the breeze was just about perfect. The gentle ripples and small waves lapped against the shore line. It was obviously low tide, based off of the smell, and the fact that the water was as flat as a piece of paper. Nothing compared to this, nothing else in my life was as incredible as the feeling that this kind of weather gave me.

My mind broke from the thought of the perfect weather, to Robbie. This feeling I was just talking about was beaten by something and that something was him. When he grabbed my hand and kissed it, when we stood there for minutes on end without a care in the world; that made me feel more alive than anything else.

I open the door to enter the school again and see the music room directly ahead. I think to myself more about what went on earlier.

As I near closer to the music room, I can hear the sound of the piano. The keys were being hit so softly you couldn't hear the tap of the fingers that were hitting them. The melody was so smooth, and pleasant, it sounded as though the pianist had been playing for years. I peak my head around the corner and watch as a curly haired kid plays and starts to sing along.

**(****Robbie****) **

**First winter's snowfall**

**Throwing backyard snowballs**

**Warming up by the fireplace**

**Marshmallows catch fire on an open flame**

**All my friends get together**

**Wishing I was there but I'm never**

**Living in the sunshine oh but dreaming of a place called home**

**I wanna run wanna run away-ay**

**I'm dreaming of a place called home**

**I could try but I'm stuck in today**

**I'm dreaming of a place that's**

I knew the song he was playing. It was one of my favorite songs in the world. So I decide, despite my terror of singing in front of people, to cut it. Even though I met him an hour ago. I was comfortable enough to do so.

**_(Both)_**

**_3000 miles away_**

He turns and looks at me when I start with him, completely shocked, and a little scared.

"Keep playing!" I yell at him foolishly, and he turns back, with a slight smile on his face, to continue. When he begins, we both start to sing to it.

**_Feels like it's forever_**

**_Seems like yesterday_**

**_We were running 'round town together_**

**_This place, just ain't the same_**

**_I miss the stormy weather_**

**_I'm not okay_**

**_3000 miles away…_**

He slowly ends it after the first chorus, as people start to enter the room. The vocal teacher was standing in the middle of the room with her eyes shut.

She opens them and looks at us both, "Why did you stop!"

Robbie and I both give a small laugh, knowing she was enjoying it a lot.

"We'll do more some other time…" I say for us both.

"Ok, well class, as you can see, this is what we will be doing weekly. You can think of it as… Karaoke sessions… or Jam sessions as you youngsters call them." This seemed to ease everyone's nerves.

At the end of class I gave Robbie my number and told him to call me when he got home. Later that afternoon I got a text saying, "Hey it's me." So I decided to play along for a little bit.

_Me who? – Cat_

_Is this a knock-knock joke that I'm not aware of? – Robbie_

_Knock-knock. – Cat_

_Who's there? – Robbie_

_Daisy. – Cat_

_Daisy who? – Robbie_

_DAISY ME ROLLIN', THEY HATIN'! – Cat_

_That was the corniest knock-knock joke I have ever heard. – Robbie_

_But it was funny right :( ?__- Cat_

_Only because it came from you. – Robbie_

_What's that supposed to mean :) ?__- Cat_

_It's only cute because you're cute. – Robbie _

_Lol no I'm not. I'm ugly. – Cat_

_Shut up. You're gorgeous. – Robbie_

_Come over so I can hug you. – Cat_

_I'm going to need your address first… - Robbie _

I give him my address and tell him to hurry up, and the second he comes to the door, I jump on him and give him a bear hug.

"You're a great person you know…" I tell him. "That was really nice."

"I know." He laughs at his own bluntness.

"So what do you want to do…" I ask him. It was starting to get dark out now. It was already 7 o'clock.

"Well, I know you invited me over, but I have something I want to show you…I only share it with special people." He grabs my hand and a leather jacket which was obviously mine, off of the coat rack, and pulls me out the door. I lock it behind me and follow him to his car.

"You're not kidnapping me right? Not a blood thirsty murderer?" I joke.

"Maybe I am. You'll just have to wait and see!"

"That's a little creepy… but cute I guess." I laugh and intertwine out fingers on our way to the driveway. He opens the door for me and shuts it once I was sitting.

When he gets in, I turn to him and say thanks. The ride took about 10 minutes, and we ended up in what looked like an abandoned warehouse park. I recognized the area, but I wasn't sure from where.

"Ok… You force me into your car and take me to an abandoned warehouse park… alone… You are so going to kill me…" I laugh knowing it isn't true.

"Just trust me…" He says going out to open my door again. He helps me out and then pulls a key out from his back pocket. "Follow me."

The sun has set, and he turns on his phone flashlight. We come to a fenced gate with a lock and chain. He takes the key and inserts it into the padlock, then pulls the chains apart and slides the gate open.

I don't have very good eyesight in the dark, so I ask him, "What is this place?"

"Just trust me." He says again leading me to a box full of what looks like switches. Robbie inserted the key again and switched on one knob. Lights boomed on, one at a time, to show an old fair ground. That's where I remembered this place from, my childhood.

We wandered through the rusted iron gates of the old abandoned funfair ground. The place was almost in total blackness, except for a few fairy lights that still desperately twinkled. There was no breeze blowing, and yet, the old ferris wheel, once a magnificent attraction to this place, was slowly creaking and groaning round on its own. We slowly proceeded through the park, only to find more neglected rides, sitting, rusting.

This old fairground was once bright, happy, glowing. Every night it was full of people, young and old alike, finding immense joy when sitting in a cold iron carriage and being shot twirled around in a circle and feeling the warm summer breeze on their faces. Others would be happy by sitting on a bench and watching the other families, smile with glee, while eating cotton candy or hot dogs. It was kind of sad to see such a beautiful place sitting in ruins. You could almost feel some of the joy that remained here.

We continue to walk until we are at the far back corner. The lights made it less creepy, but it was still a little mysterious.

"This place is so old…" I sigh, knowing nothing will work.

"Not as old as you think." Robbie says stopping at a box on one of the light poles. He opens it, puts the key in again, and pushes up one of the knobs.

The lights of the Ferris wheel go on first, then the swings; next the fun houses and the carousel. The entire park lit up with wonderful bright lights and pure happiness.

"This is amazing…" I smile at him and take his hand. He was cute about it, but still very nervous. He squeezed a little bit, testing out my comforts, and then finally just settled on letting me do the rest.

We walk hand in hand over to a food truck. "I'm sorry, but I am not eating anything that's in there… It could be 50 years old."

"Don't worry, I brought a pizza over here earlier when I was setting up."

"Wait, you actually planned this?" I ask. I thought it was cute that he put so much thought into just a little hangout session. Then it clicked. This wasn't just hanging out for him.

"Did I mention I brought hot cocoa too?" He smiles avoiding the topic, giving me the hint to drop it.

"I wouldn't mind a cup of that…" I squeeze his hand to let him know it was all ok, then let go so that he can make the hot cocoa.

There was a pizza box sitting on the counter of the food truck. It was warm in here, despite the cool air filling the atmosphere outside. It could be 100 degrees during the day, but at night, it was always cold in LA. He plugs in a Keurig and sticks in a hot chocolate k cup. Then he grabs 2 Styrofoam cups from the cabinet. He opens the built in oven and slides the pizza box in to warm it up. The way he did all of this was very fluid and easy, just like the way he played piano. I could tell he was good with his hands.*

Once out food and cocoa was done, he grabs brings me and our food and drinks to the Ferris wheel.

"Do you trust me?" He asks.

"Yes." I smile.

He puts his arms around my waist and picks me up, slowly inching me towards the seat on the Ferris wheel that was off of the ground. I slide into the seat and take the food and drinks from him, so that he could climb up. He grabs onto the poles that connect the carts and lifts himself up in a chin up position, then pushes himself up father until her can swing his legs up on the rod. He then does this again until he is at the same level as me on the car. He slowly steps on, trying not to rock it too much, and finally sits.

We sit there for a moment sipping at out hot chocolate and eating our pizza, until the food is gone. He tosses the plates down, telling me he will get them later. I decide to step it up a notch, and slid closer to him, so that I am nuzzled into his arm.

"Oh… Hi there." He says scratching behind his ear again. 'Definitely a nervous habit', I think to myself.

"You know I was really scared I wasn't going to fit in at HA." I tell him.

"Why is that?" He asks, putting his arm around me and testing out my comforts by rubbing small circles on my back.

"It was a new start. A new school. No one to look for. No one to go to incase anything happened. That kind of stuff is scary. I was just really worried it wouldn't work out." I explain by spilling my heart out to someone I just met.

"But you have me now. So everything is going to be okay. I've got you now, kid." He smiles at me and I had the sudden urge to kiss him, but I resisted. I had to keep this going longer. I didn't want to ruin it right off the bat. Maybe by the end of the night, but not just yet.

**Ok… so the first chapter. That song by the way was 3000 miles by Emblem 3 if you didn't know, or wanted to know. Anyway, I always love the idea of Ferris wheels. But the idea of Robbie bringing her to one alone and the surprise when all of the lights go on and how he set everything up before hand lol. Just really cute that's all. Well I hope there is more than one person reading this, not just the one person I force to read… But if there is, thank you. And I will update soon. Just know this… the date is not over yet, it just started.**


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, when I was a kid, I used to come here every year. And the first thing I would run to was this. The ferris wheel. I'd clime up in the seat and just wait hopelessly for it to start. There was something about it, I guess, the fact that when I was up here," He looked over the edge and down at the ground, "I felt like I was on top of the world. Nobody could hurt me, nobody could rob my pride… It was just me and the horizon, you know. Then I'd get back on the ground, and it was all back to normal… Being up here again, like a little kid, it's one of the most amazing feelings in the world." He tells me. I couldn't help but smile at this.

"Well I'm glad that I got to share it with you…" I smile and scoot closer to him. He slid his arm around me casually, and I fit into the crook of his arm like a puzzle piece. Like it was meant to be.

We sat there in each other's silence for hours, just staring out into the sky. It was kind of romantic, but I didn't want to think of this as a date. I don't know why, but I just think I wasn't ready for all of that yet.

I lean my head up onto his shoulder and stare at him for a moment, then smile and look away. I could tell he had shaved this morning, because his face was perfectly clean, but it was obvious he could grow some 5 o'clock shadow. He smelled good, like a combination of cologne and what a man should smell like. Everything about him made me feel good.

We finally decided to head home because it was getting late. He helps me down off of the Ferris wheel, and we start walking back to the car.

"Can I ask you something?" I look at him.

"Anything." He replies with a charming smile.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Because people like you deserve the perfect night every once and a while." He pauses for a moment, and then continues, "Whether it's from a friend, or someone more than that."

I smile at that because it was true, I did need this today.

We hurry towards the car as the raindrops start to hit our noses. It was slow at first, but they sped up quickly. He opens the car door for me and lets me in before shutting it. When he gets into the driver's seat, his hair was wet and matted down, and his blue zip up hoodie had dark patches all over it.

"Looks like we left just in time huh?" He chuckles as he buckles his seat belt.

As he pulls away I lean my head on the window, and let my hand fall to my side. Out of the corner of my eye I can see his discomfort, like he was trying to decide something.

The view from the window wasn't much to look at, mostly distorted buildings and moving lights, visible only through beads of rain, moving as though they had to be somewhere 5 minutes ago. The nose of the rain hitting the car at all angles sounding like an incessant drum roll, combined with the wind whistling as loud as possible almost drowned out the sound of the radio. The heater began to kick into life bringing its comforting warmth to the car. The view of the road in front could only stay clear for a few seconds, despite the wipers working overtime to move the rain off the windshield, and on the road, where it belongs.

I shift a little bit to get more comfortable, and feels something next to my hand. I grab at it out of curiosity and realize it was Robbie's hand. He slowly intertwines his fingers with mine, hoping I won't pull away. I could feel the tension in the air alleviate and the relaxation sink in.

His hand was warm and rough, but it felt good. His fingertips were hard like a guitar player's would be, which explained why he was at HA. When I heard him sing and play piano earlier today, it gave me Goosebumps. He was obviously multi-instrumental.

I decide to take the chance and start up a conversation without breaking the relaxed feeling in the car. "How long have you been playing guitar?"

He tries to slip his hand away from mine, but I give it a tight squeeze to reassure him that I was part of this too, and I wanted it to continue. He didn't squeeze my hand, but I could feel the muscles in his body go rigid from nervousness.

"About uh, 13 years…" He gulped down whatever he was going to say next.

"And piano?"

"13 years." He says abruptly. "How did you know I played guitar?"

I play with his fingertips flirtatiously and giggle a little bit.

"I see…" He eases up a little bit, knowing I was enjoying his hand in mine.

The smile on my face disappeared as he pulled into my driveway. He pulled the keys out of the ignition, and the heat stopped blasting.

"Do you want to come in?" I ask nervously as he lets go of my hand.

"No. No its ok." He turns me down, which left me a little upset, but I was going to try one more time.

"Come on, your wet. Let's get you a cup of coffee to warm you up." I smile at him and grab his hand again.

"Ok. I wouldn't mind that."

I get out of the warm car and a blast of cold wet air hits me, sending every hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.

As I run up to the porch, and Robbie is one step behind me. The overhang on my porch was rather small, so Robbie was pushed up against me, as I tried to get the keys out of me bag.

His body against mine made me so nervous, but it felt amazing. I finally feel the cold metal at the bottom of my purse, and pull it out. I continue to fumble with the keys, and end up dropping them. I bend down to get them, not thinking, and realize that my butt was in the wrong spot on Robbie.

He took a step back, trying to reduce my embarrassment, but it was already there. I open the door, and step in, hoping my face wasn't as red as it was a moment ago.

"Sorry…" I apologize.

"It's ok. I didn't mind it." He smiles at me. I wasn't really sure how to take that, but if he meant it as it sounded, that made me blush even more.

"CAT IS THAT YOU!" I hear from the kitchen. Then footsteps follow. From around the corner I can hear, "How was that date with that boy you were talking about! I want to hear everything! Did he kiss y—"

My mom stops abruptly as she sees that he was standing right there. I cover my face slowly to hide the fact that I was a tomato.

"Oh, hi. I'm Holly, Cat's mom." She extends her hand.

"Hi Miss Valentine." Robbie shakes her hand casually, pretending like nothing happened.

"Call me Holly. Miss Valentine makes me feel old." She smiles.

"Mom, I thought you were working late at the hospital tonight?" I say when I know my face has calmed down. I give her a look of death as I say this.

"I did. Babe, it's almost midnight. I got home an hour ago."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was that late. It won't happen again Miss Val—Holly."

"Oh don't worry about it babe. She doesn't have a curfew. Just don't get her into any trouble and you will be fine. Did you too have a fun time?" This was the mother I loved, the one who didn't need to embarrass me to be a good mom.

"Yes ma'am, I did at least." Robbie smiles at me, and I nod back with a smile as big as his. Tonight was a blast, even though we sat there in silence for most of it.

"I invited Robbie in for a cup of coffee. Is that okay?

"Yea, that's cool. But I'm going to head up to bed. Long day. Have fun." She says waving and going up the stairs. I knew she wasn't going to sleep, my mom never sleeps. She was just giving us some time alone, probably making up for the embarrassment easier.

After the coffee is made and poured, I sit next to Robbie on one of the spinny bar stools that are behind the island.

"Thank you by the way."

"For what?" He asks.

"For not getting all embarrassed with my mom. That would have made it so much worse."

"No problem." He chuckles and pauses."So, uh, a date huh?"

"Shut up." I say, playfully hitting him of the shoulder.

"Hey, I never said I had a problem with it. We can call that a date if you want."

"How about a planned event with dinner and a Ferris wheel?" I say flirtatiously.

"So… a date?

I sat there for a moment, silent. "Ok… a date…"

"Good."

"So if this is a date… does that mean I can do this?" I grab him by the color of his blue button down flannel, and slam his lips against mine.

**What a spot to leave off on… you must hate me… LOL. Ok well I won't be updating until later in the week. Monday is my birthday, so I have places to go tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, so I won't have any time. I see that I've gotten a couple more story followers, and only 2 of them are my past readers. So thank you to those amazing authors, Sofia13 and CabbieFluffQueen, It means a lot. Hope you like it, and to the other new followers reviews are amazing! I would love to hear what you have to say, both the good and the bad, SO REVIEW! **


	4. Chapter 4

Nothing else happened for the next couple of months. Robbie and I just continue to be friends. After the kiss he left. He wasn't in a hurry, he wasn't upset or scared, he was normal. We would hang out about 3 to 4 times a week and he would help me in math. It was obvious that algebra 2 was not my thing.

I kept thinking about that night. Every second of every day, my mind was wrapped around the feeling I got, the warmth that flooded through my body, and the way his lips felt on mine.

It was now December, and the air was a little bit more crisp than normal. Winters in California weren't cold. The average temperature was in the low 50's, but it had to be in the high 30's right now. I put of a coat and scarf and walked out the door, heading over towards Robbie.

Tomorrow was Christmas, and it was a tradition in his family to decorate the tree the night before, instead of weeks before hand. As I stepped out of the car, a cold breeze made my face sting. His house was light up like a gingerbread house would be with candy. It looked very welcoming.

I walked up to the door and rang the bell. I could hear the scampering of claws taping on the floor, and the barking that came from his two dogs. They were the cutest little things in the world.

His mom opened the door to let me in, and the first thing I did was get down on my knees to pet the dogs. My face was covered in dog spit when I got up. Robbie came over to me and gave me a hug hello, so I used the sweatshirt he was wearing as a towel.

"Oh so now I only get dog kisses?" He chuckles and gets a little red. I stand up and hug his mom with a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"If you wanted anything more, you know all you have to do is ask." I laugh and kiss him on the cheek softly.

"Would you give it to me?"

"Maybe…" I giggle a little bit and walk past him to say hi to his dad.

I walk up to him and go in for a hug. He was one of the coolest people I have ever met, and he knew I felt that way. He wraps his arms around me and gives me a bear hug.

"You look great kid. Long time, no see." He laughs knowing I was here two days ago.

"Would you like to eat now, or wait a little while?" His mom asks me.

"I'm starved actually. Now would be fine!" I tell her and she laughs.

We all sit around the table. Robbie was next to me and his parents were across from us. The normal table talk started after we all served ourselves. Just little conversations about school and music.

"So Cat, we can all see your gorgeous," His mom starts to say which makes me blush, "Why no boyfriend?"

I was really hoping she wasn't going to say that, because that's where I felt it was going. I wanted to avoid it, but seeing as though every ounce of blood drained from my face, I figured I wouldn't even try. It was already up in the air.

I look down, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Robbie staring at me. He was just waiting for a response.

"It's quite simple actually," I laugh nervously, but push the words out, "I'm waiting for a certain someone to take my heart."

His mom looks at me and lets out a happy sigh. I look up at him, and I can see the smirk on his face. He was happy. He knew what that meant. He understood that certain someone was him, and that was what I was hoping for.

We continue to out dinner, and finally when all were finished, I help his mom collect and wash the plates. He and his dad go off into the den and I start to hear the strumming of guitar strings. I smile at the fact that he has so much in common with his father. It was cute in a way.

"So a certain someone, huh?" I turn at the sound of that.

"Um, yea…" I chuckle it off.

"Listen, I may be old hun, but I'm not dumb." She laughs at me.

"Is it that obvious, Mrs. Shapiro?" I ask.

"God will you please just call me Susan? I mean, you're going to be my future daughter-in-law one day, so you might as well start early." I never realized how great of a sense of humor she had.

That comment made me laugh, but things got serious again, rather quickly. I look over at her and make direct contact. "Can I tell you something? But don't bring it up in front of him, he might get weird."

"Sure. Anything."

"I kissed him… in September. I kissed him, and he kissed me back. But the next day it just went back to normal. Nothing ever happened." I explain to her.

"I know. He told me." She smiled.

"What happened?"

"Maybe he wasn't ready? Maybe that was the way he dealt with the fact that he was scared. Men like to act all big, rough, and tough, but in all honestly, I think women have more balls than they do. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Would it be too cliché to say that I'm too scared too?" I ask her.

I was nervous just talking about it, how could I go up to him and talk to him. What would I say? _Hey Robbie, you haven't kisses me since that day. Do I smell? _I wasn't going to do that.

"No, it's ok to be scared. Everyone gets scared. If you want my opinion, just talk to him. It's not as scary as you would think it is. It's a lot easier when you actually do it, then when you think about it. Just give it a shot. Not right now. Enjoy your Christmas Eve. Do it later." She tells me, putting her arm around my shoulder and walking into the den with me.

There is a pool table in the back corner, a flat screen TV with a PS4, and some furniture. The entire back wall is lined with floor to ceiling book shelves. I always wondered if all of the books on there were real.

There is a piano in the opposite corner of the room along with 2 guitar stands. The guitars are in Robbie and his father's arms as they continue to strum away even after we walk in. His father was playing the chords progressions while Robbie plucked away at the stings. The song was actually quite pretty.

The finally stop and look over at us. His mom and I start clapping almost simultaneously.

"That was really good! Did you guys just go for it, or have you been working on that before?" I ask Robbie and his dad.

"We kind of just go for it. He starts out with some strumming and I play a melody that sounds good in my head. It always… works." Robbie explains.

"Wow… Reminds me of me and my grandmother. We both play the piano, and before she died, we would sit on the bench for hours on end just playing randomly. I could sit and watch her play forever because the feeling I got when I heard it just made my heart stop. But when I played with her…" I let out a short sigh. "Those were the day I'll never forget."

"She sounds amazing Cat. I'm sorry to hear that though." His father tells me, getting up, putting his arm around me and giving me a squeeze.

"Four years ago, yesterday, actually. But it taught me a lot. Never give up on something before it's finished… You know, just stuff like that." I avert my eyes from Robbie, who I was looking at almost this entire time.

"Why don't we stop talking about sad things? It's Christmas Eve. Let's do something fun! Robbie tells me you sing?" His mom starts.

"A little…" I crack my neck nervously.

"Go get on the piano. I want to hear you and Robbie do a duet. Grab your guitar honey." She tells him and leads me over to the baby grand in the back corner.

I lift the lid and sit down, adjusting the bench as I go. Robbie puss up a chair next to me. I show him my phone with the song I wanted him to play with me. He nods in agreement, but with a look of curiosity as to why I picked this song.

"Like I told you earlier, 4 years ago someone special to me died. So if you don't mind this isn't going to be a Christmas song. My grandma and I would always plan my dream wedding. From the flowers to the cake, to the music. And since I was a little girl, I wanted this song to be the one I would dance to with my husband." I explain. Robbie looks at me at that last sentence. I was wondering if you understood what I was trying to say.

I play an introduction to the song that I wrote, so he could hear the chords I was using. My hands move slowly on the piano. Each touch lingered on the keys, creating its own feeling inside my body. Everything felt so fluent.

Robbie begins to follow the pattern I'm playing with his own strumming pattern. It sounded amazing in these first few second, so I decide to start.

**(Cat- )**

**Nothing goes as planned.**

**Everything will break.**

**People say goodbye.**

**In their own special way.**

**_(Both- )_**

**_All that you rely on_**

**_And all that you can fake_**

**_Will leave you in the morning_**

**_But find you in the day_**

**(Cat-)**

**Oh you're in my veins**

**And I cannot get you out**

**Oh you're all I taste**

**At night inside of my mouth**

**Oh you run away**

**Cause I am not what you found**

**Oh you're in my veins**

**And I cannot get you out.**

_(Robbie-)_

_Everything will change._

_Nothin stays the same._

_And nobody here's perfect._

_Oh but everyone's to blame_

**(Cat-)**

**All that you rely on**

**And all that you can save**

**Will leave you in the morning**

**And find you in the day**

**_(Both-)_**

**_Oh you're in my veins_**

**_And I cannot get you out_**

**_Oh you're all I taste_**

**_At night inside of my mouth_**

**_Oh you run away_**

**_Cause I am not what you found_**

**_Oh you're in my veins_**

**_And I cannot get you out._**

_(Robbie-)_

_No I cannot get you out._

**(Cat-)**

**No I cannot get you.**

**_(Both-)_**

**_Oh I cannot get you._**

**(Cat-)**

**Everything is dark.**

**It's more than you can take.**

**But you catch a glimpse of sun light.**

**Shinin, shinin down on your face.**

**Your face, oh your face.**

**_(Both-)_**

**_Oh you're in my veins_**

**_And I cannot get you out_**

**_Oh you're all I taste_**

**_At night inside of my mouth_**

**_Oh you run away_**

**_Cause I am not what you found_**

**_Oh you're in my veins_**

**_And I cannot get you out_**

_(Robbie-)_

_No I cannot get you out._

**(Cat-)**

**No I cannot get you out.**

**_(Both-)_**

**_Oh no, I cannot get you._**

After we finished the song, the little rush of adrenaline finished and I was back to normal. My face flushed with embarrassment, as his parents clapped for us both. I gave Robbie a kiss on the cheek and a big hug, mostly trying to hide the fact that I looked like a tomato.

"That was amazing." He whispered in my ear. "I didn't know how well you sang, other than that little bit in music class…"

"Thank you. You're pretty good yourself you know."

By this time it was already about 11:45. We all headed into the kitchen to get some hot cocoa before the clock hit 12.

After pouring the cups, Robbie and I went over towards the tree and the fire to talk. His parents left us alone for a little while and did their own thing.

"Can we talk for a second?" I ask him. I put my cocoa down on the table, and take his from him to do the same.

"Go for Santa?" He says in a cute way.

I just stared at him trying to gather my words, but nothing was coming out.

"Hey, what's wrong? Your freaking me out." He says as a little disappointed sigh comes out of me.

"Oh my gosh…" I breathe heavily a few times trying to get the nerve to say what I needed to. "Plenty of things to say, and when the time comes, you can't say them…"

He chuckles a little bit and gives me that one smile I needed to get me through this moment. I smile back at him and let go of all the nervous feelings inside me.

"Um…Its just you and me… Cat and Robbie. Robbie and Cat. A-Alone, we're bold… we're brash, we can move mountains," I pause for a moment to gather the thoughts that were racing around in my head. "And together we're, um…"

"We're safe." He finishes my sentence.

"Yea, and together we're safe…" I finish.

"Yea… I know."

"I want to be bold, Robbie." I say deciding to just get it all out. His hand was resting on the couch, a little more tense than usual, but that's understood. I take his hand softly, just as he did to me that night a few months ago. Nervously and slowly, I intertwine our fingers and let it all flow naturally from there. "But I want to be bold with you."

He looks down at our hands and smiles, "So no more games then?"

I shake my head, "No more games."

"Chips on the table?" He says metaphorically.

"All in." I smile

"All in..." He repeats.

"Tonight." I tell him.

"Tomorrow." He smiles.

"And the day after th-" I try to finish the sentence, but I was cut off by the warmth of his lips on mine. He held me passionately for a moment, refusing to let go, but when he did I was in a sort of shock. I opened my eyes after he pulled back, and stared at him. It took a moment for the smile to kick in, but it did. I was grinning ear to ear.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back in. This time, instead of being a stiff but sweet kiss, it was full of movement and passion. Everything about it made me feel like I was floating, like my feet weren't on the ground.

I finally let go of him and look up at the digital clock on the TV. It was 12:02.

"What a Christmas gift…" I laugh.

"Good, because I didn't get you anything…" He tells me.

"Really?" I say a little bit upset.

"No. I'm joking. Of course I got you something." He says reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a box.

"Cat, I can't promise you that we will be together forever, even though I would love to do so. Things could happen that neither of us wants. But for right now, I promise you that I will stick by your side for however long life will let me. You kind of ruined my first half of the gift, because I was going to kiss you, but I think this is good enough… I love you babe…" He says handing me this flat and long box.

Inside was a necklace. It was a cut out of a heart, and on the inner ring of it said, "As long as life will let me… - R.S."


End file.
